Words, Familiar in Their Mouths

One of the wonderful rewards of listening to lots of Shakespeare is the moment when you begin to recognize passages or themes that re-occur. It is the feeling of finally being able to recognize a painter from the strokes of their brush or a composer from the first few notes of an overture.

Oh Mendelssohn you crazy man

As children learn to recognize their parents’ voices and reach to them for comfort, so we move towards writers with whom we feel a particular connection. As Hector says in Alan Bennett’s play The History Boys, “The best moments in reading are when you come across something – a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things – that you’d thought special, particular to you. And here it is, set down by someone else, a person you’ve never met, maybe even someone long dead. And it’s as if a hand has come out, and taken yours.”

There are many ways in which the lines from Shakespeare connect to the world outside. In last year’s exhibit “Very Like a Whale”, Folger Director Michael Witmore and photographer Rosamund Purcell collaborated to create an exhibit that paired modern photographs, early modern manuscripts, and natural objects with quotes from Shakespeare plays.

In the Curators’ Insights for the exhibition, Dr. Witmore described the connections between the objections in the exhibition: “‘My reaction to these images is immediately emotional, a set of overtones and feelings…I look at it and I think, I’ve had that feeling before.’ The photograph “Awake Your Faith,” for example, suggests the scene in The Winter’s Talein which a statue comes to life. ‘That is probably my favorite moment in the plays,’ says Witmore. ‘A very hopeful moment, a triumph of hope over experience—buoyancy, life, and longing. I have the same feelings on the stage and in the image for that moment.'”

“Awake Your Faith”

Lines in Shakespeare resonate not only with the outside world, but also with other plays in the canon. Sometimes a particular line feels familiar, sometimes a situation (“Hey look! More twins!!”).

Even a particular silence can feel familiar – think of Lear recognizing Cordelia and Leontes, Hermione. As Claudio would say, “Silence is the perfectest herald of joy”. Recognition is not always a happy occasion in Shakespeare however – think of Brutus advancing towards Caesar or Tamora taking a closer look at the finger food on her plate.

Bye mom! See you at dinner!

Luckily, recognizing particular passages in Shakespeare is usually a pleasant experience for the reader, if not for the character. There is however, a certain pang to the realization that characters in Shakespeare keep making the same mistakes. (This artist’s solution of having protagonists switch places seems like a neat solution.)

There are a number of passages in Richard IIIthat feel similar to other Shakespeare plays. Some use almost identical words and syntax, others are related through theme or structure.

For example, Margaret fromRichard IIIand Rosalind from As You Like It use the same structure to give instuctions to multiple people – “You go here and do this thing, you go over here and do this other thing, and I’m going to go over HERE and do this last thing.” – even though one is giving instuctions about marriage and the other about how to avoid being murdered.

Or this example, where both Richard III and Portia from Julius Caesartell their servants go do something as fast as they possibly can, but forget to tell them what the thing is. First from Richard III:

In both cases, the character is so preoccupied with the coming chaos (Richard with the Battle of Bosworth Field and Portia with the assasination of Julius Caesar) that they forget that it is usually helpful to tell someone what to do if you would like them to do it. The other examples below are more direct. Till next time!